Video shows US police officer taser and pepper-spray African-American man who had suffered a stroke

Officer Shaun Jurgens has resigned from the police force but says he did nothing wrong

Police in Fredericksburg, Virginia, have released video of a police officer using his taser and pepper spray on an African-American driver suffering a medical emergency.

The footage, shot by the body camera of officer Shaun Jurgens, shows the officer and two others, Matt Deschenes and Crystal Hill, responding to calls of a hit-and-run, with the driver travelling in the wrong direction along the motorway.

The car in question was being driven by 34-year-old David Washington. He eventually stopped his Hyundai in the middle of an intersection, having just hit a street sign.

The video shows Washington motionless at the wheel, although his right arm appears to be moving. Jurgens shoots Washington with his taser, but it fails to connect. His fellow officer opens the car door and then Jurgens pepper sprays the driver.

Jurgens and Deschenes then drag him out of the car and handcuff him, with Washington crying, "I can't breath."

Sources have told local reporters that Washington had suffered a stroke. Police say the 34-year-old has been released from hospital and is recovering.

Jurgens has now resigned from the police department, but he released a statement to the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star arguing his innocence. Jurgens said he did what he had to do to control the situation and ensure it did not escalate.

He says that Washington had been driving near a primary school and was a risk to drivers during rush hour traffic.

However, the Fredericksburg police department say that Jurgens’ use of force was not in line with department policies or training.

IT GETS WORSE:

Newly released video has revealed the dying moments of an African-American active-duty soldier who checked himself into the El Paso, Texas, county jail for a two-day sentence for driving under the influence, and died while in custody in 2012. Authorities claimed Sgt. James Brown died due to a pre-existing medical condition, but shocking new video from inside the jail raises new questions about what happened. The video shows guards swarming on top of him as he repeatedly says he can’t breathe and appears not to resist. By the end of the video, he is shown naked, not blinking or responding, his breathing shallow. Attorneys say an ambulance was never called. Brown was eventually brought to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His family had long suspected foul play in his death but received little information from authorities. They’ve now filed a lawsuit against El Paso County saying his constitutional rights were violated. We are joined by Brown’s mother, Dinetta Scott.

It's the strategy of every bad coach and every disgruntled fan: When you team loses, blame the referee.

That's what the lawyers for Sheriff Joe Arpaio are trying to do. Arpaio's attorneys filed a motion Friday calling for the removal of U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow from Arpaio's civil contempt case.

The reason, according to a report by the Arizona Republic's Megan Cassidy, is that Arpaio's attorney's say Snow has moved from being an independent arbiter into the role of investigating "issues involving his own family."

The real reason, I'd guess, is that Arpaio is getting his butt kicked.

The civil contempt hearing isn't going the sheriff's way -- at all. He's already admitted to having violated the judge's court order involving racial profiling by his department. And he's admitted as well that his attorneys had hired a private agent to investigate comments that Snow's wife allegedly made about the judge's intent to remove Arpaio from office.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's racial profiling ways are making a serious dent in Maricopa County's budget, to the tune of $44.5 million, and counting.

Maricopa County's fiscal year 2016 budget, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors on Monday, allocates $23.8 million for costs associated with complying with a federal court's orders in the civil rights lawsuit Melendres v. Arpaio.

Federal Judge G. Murray Snow ruled against Arpaio in 2013 and later ordered a series of reforms for the sheriff's office, appointing a monitor to oversee them. Snow's rulings were later upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to a slideshow presentation given by budget officials to the supervisors on Monday, the county spent $3.7 million in 2014 on Melendres compliance and anticipates spending $17 million in FY 2015 by the time the county's fiscal year ends June 30.

Which means, unless the current numbers are revised, the FY 2016 budget will bring the county to a total of $44.5 million allocated for Melendres.

The budget presentation notes that these numbers do not include legal costs.

I reported in April that legal costs in Melendres and U.S. v. Maricopa County, the civil rights lawsuit brought against the MCSO by the U.S. Department of Justice, were up to a total of $14.2 million, of which, about $6.8 million was from attorneys' billings in Melendres.

Interestingly, as KJZZ recently reported, the county's FY 2016 adopted budget increased one percent over last year's adopted budget, by around...$23 million. But it may not be fair to say the budget increased due to Joe.

Much of the $23.8 million increase in 2016 on spending for Melendres is due to reallocating 24 positions in the sheriff's office to deal with compliance issues regarding the case.

But at the very least, it's a diversion of resources that did not have to happen.

Under the heading "Major Budget Challenges," the slideshow states that, "Melendres cost increases are difficult to fund or predict."

They certainly are, especially when both the sheriff and his chief deputy have admitted that they defied the court's orders in Melendres.

Richard Hudson, a Republican from Concord, represents the 8th District in the U.S. House, which includes most of Robeson County.

Last updated: May 22. 2015 2:11PM - 136 Views

Patriotism. It’s one of many feelings I get when I see an American flag. More than just stiches and dye on a piece of fabric, the American flag stands for liberty, freedom and pride. It represents the history of our nation and soars as a symbol of our strength and unity. Along with patriotism and pride, the flag elicits an immense gratitude for our heroic men and women in uniform who display unparalleled dedication to our freedom.

It’s a reminder that freedom comes with a cost, and our veterans, our soldiers and their families are paying it. One of the most heartbreaking places to see the American flag is draped over the casket of a member of the United States Armed Forces. There, the red, white and blue serve as an honor and a tribute to thank our veterans and those who perished while serving.

The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that from 2011 to 2014, the Department of Defense paid 14 NFL teams a total $5.4 million, while the National Guard paid 11 teams $5.3 million, to “honor America’s heroes” before football games, and during halftime shows. Not every NFL ceremony was part of the pay to play scam, but many of those maudlin, red, white and blue salutes to the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors, complete with jet plane fly overs, marching bands and giant banners were no different than the advertisements for Coca-Cola or Viagra.

There is an ironic symbiosis between the NFL and the Department of Defense. Both institutions capture American zeal for grandiose displays of strength, bravado and gladiatorial machismo. They both benefit, however, from an unwillingness on the part of the public to closely examine what transpires beneath the surface of spectacle. A friend of mine once made the dark joke while watching a football game, “I’m just here for the concussions.” The administration of the NFL has tried to deny the connection between gridiron combat and early dementia, but the evidence is overwhelming.

The Pentagon is obstinate in its refusal to deal with the sexual assault epidemic in the military, where some reports suggest one-third of servicewomen are raped, and most of them are too frightened of the consequences to their careers to report the crime. Twenty-one percent of all domestic violence cases are committed by combat veterans. Stacy Bannerman, a leading advocate for the service and protection of military families, has written a bill that would provide military spouses suffering from violence and harassment transition funding to escape their tormentors, and begin new lives. The Pentagon is resistant, and not one Senator has yet to sponsor the bill. Meanwhile, the U.S. government and military establishment has apparently proceeded without shame or hesitation to allocate taxpayer money to the let the world know they are ready for some football, and commercialize the catastrophe of war.

Let’s see here,Yankee Noodle, You betcha Bob, sees a post on two white cops tasering and pepper spraying an overweight black guy who had a stroke, after the bad-ass cop told him he was going “to smoke him” and another video of a two time Iraq vet getting smothered by prison guards. Both black guys are dead. Noodle, a support-the troops kinda guy (of course this guy was not IDF but US} comes down strong for law and oder. Support your local police.

Vice-President Joe Biden on Monday spoke to the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to reassure him of US support, a day after controversial remarks by the defense secretary, Ash Carter, sparked a war of words over the recent military successes of Islamic State.

Carter told CNN on Saturday Iraqi forces had shown “no will to fight” Isis and had fled in Ramadi despite outnumbering the militants. Isis also captured Palmyra, in Syria, last week.

A spokesman for Abadi subsequently told the Associated Press Carter had been given “incorrect information”, and said: “We should not judge the whole army based on one incident.”

A White House statement on Monday said Biden recognised “the enormous sacrifice and bravery” that Iraqi forces had displayed over the past 18 months in Ramadi and elsewhere, and welcomed an Iraqi decision to mobilise additional troops and prepare for counter-attack operations.

Nonetheless, rival powers and allies traded barbs and accusations over the recent successes of Islamic State, amid warnings that it may execute hundreds of hostages captured in its latest battles.

In Iran Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the external operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, said the US had “no will” to fight Isis.

“Today, there is nobody in confrontation with [Isis] except the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as nations who are next to Iran or supported by Iran,” Soleimani told a daily newspaper, Javan, on Monday

Soleimani said US fighter jets had done nothing to halt the Isis advance on Ramadi, and said the US was complicit in the group’s expansion.

Some argue that Obama's strategy is most intelligent, likely the best in recent (well not so recent) memory. Others argue that the strategy, if there is one, is vague an mutable, the tactics insufficient to the final objective, strategy-lite if you will. The war of words continues.

Today I heard someone say, "When someone has to ask 'do you think the strategy is working', you know that it is not."

Do you think Obama is intentionally fucking things up because of his Moslem heritage, or is he just incompetent..

Read this article and decide for yourself -> > http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/05/john_bolton_underestimates_obama.html> >>>> The man-child sitting in the Oval Office spent his formative years in> Indonesia, finds the Muslim call to prayer the sweetest sound, decided> that the mission of NASA was Muslim outreach, gave his first interview> as president to an Arab news station, jetted off to Cairo to give a> speech, and gave the Muslim Brotherhood front-row seats as he pandered> and apologized, made his first call as president to the leader of the> Palestinian Authority, proclaimed on the world stage that we must not> slander Islam, labeled blatant acts of jihad terror as “workplace> violence,” has consistently tipped the scales in the Middle East> against our allies and in favor jihadists, is importing Muslims to the> United States from places like Syria at an alarming rate, is openly> hostile to Israel, and is negotiating with Iran.> > And that’s just for starters.<<<

Leftists are upset about what they view as a double standard with respect to the Baltimore/Ferguson affair and the recent Waco gang shootout. They’re right, too – there sure is a double standard.

And, as usual, it’s their own.

Consider, for example, an Associated Press piece by one Jesse J. Holland titled “Differing perceptions of Waco, Baltimore bothering some.” Holland starts out writing that the “prevailing images of protests in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, over police killings of black men were of police in riot gear, handcuffed protesters, tear gas and mass arrests. The main images of a fatal gun battle between armed bikers and police in Waco, Texas, also showed mass arrests – carried out by nonchalant-looking officers sitting around calm bikers on cellphones.” The idea is that while the black thugs in Baltimore and Ferguson received harsh treatment and coverage, the primarily white thugs in Waco were, relatively speaking, handled with kid gloves.

Pardon my tongue, but this brings us to another complaint. Holland cites people who say that while Barack Obama and other politicians called the Baltimore miscreants “thugs,” no such descriptive is applied to the white Waco punks. He mentions in particular radio and TV commentator Roland Martin, who tweeted, "So the mainstream media refuses to talk [hashtag]WacoThugs, huh?” And Martin has a point: while the black Baltimore rioters and looters were called thugs, no white Waco rioters and looters were thus characterized. I wonder, why might that be?

Oh, yeah, that’s right: there are no white rioters and looters in Waco.

Minor details such as this seem to escape the notice of two-brain-cell journalists in search of a story, but a prerequisite for having “police in riot gear” is actually having, you know, a riot. The incident in Waco was an unforeseen event, meaning the cops had no time to don any kind of special gear.

Perhaps they don’t teach proper analogizing in journalism school, but the Waco biker thugs aren’t analogous to the Baltimore rioter thugs; rather, they’re analogous to the person the latter were rioting over: drug dealer Freddie Gray. And no one went out of his way to call Gray a thug.

Martin also lamented that we won’t have a “panel discussion on their [the bikers’] childhood” or on “fatherless homes,” no doubt, as the media will soon drop the story. This is largely because they don’t have a black-on-white racial angle to play up, but also for another reason:

Whites won’t be rallying to the defense of the biker thugs.

Matters are proceeding as they should. The police went to the scene of the crime, fired on the thugs when necessary (perhaps killing some), brought matters to a conclusion, and made arrests – 170 of them. Moreover, all people, including whites, want to see justice done. In fact, no small number of whites would no doubt say that more of the thugs should have been shot.

Oh, as for the descriptors, it’s self-evident that the Waco criminals are thugs. The reason why the point had to be made in Baltimore is that politicians, media propagandists, and race-baiting activists had euphemized the rioters as “protesters” who cared about Freddie Gray and had legitimate grievances. So even Obama, in a rare and fleeting moment of lucidity, pointed out the obvious: get off it – they’re just thugs.

The irony of the Lamestream Media’s reporting on what’s a flawed conception of a double standard is that it was created by their own exercise of a true double standard. As black pundit Larry Elder reported, police shootings of black suspects are down 75 percent over the last several decades, but you wouldn’t know it from cherry-picked reportage that seems designed to incite racial unrest. Consider the following list of perspective-lending realities the media refuses to cover:

As Elder also wrote, “[i]n 2012, according to the CDC, 140 blacks were killed by police. That same year 386 whites were killed by police. Over the 13-year period from 1999 to 2011, the CDC reports that 2,151 whites were killed by cops – and 1,130 blacks were killed by cops.”

Of course, blacks are only 13 percent of the population. So far more significantly and as this recent Washington State University study shows, police are actually more willing to shoot white than black suspects. Why? Because police know that, as Ferguson officer Darren Wilson’s experience illustrates, shooting a black criminal can mean media crucifixion, career destruction, death threats, and, basically, the end of your life as you know it.

Black suspects are as likely to shoot at police as to be shot at.

Relative to whites, black are shot by police at a lower rate than their involvement in crime would suggest. As sociologist and ex-cop Professor Peter Moskos writes, “[a]djusted for the homicide rate, whites are 1.7 times more likely than blacks [to] die at the hands of police. Adjusted for the racial disparity at which police are feloniously killed, whites are 1.3 times more likely than blacks to die at the hands of police.”

According to FBI statistics, 46 percent of those who’ve murdered police officers during the last decade have been black.

Blacks commit approximately more than half of all murders nationwide. And 93 percent of all black homicide victims are murdered by other blacks.

Stories of generally “unarmed” white suspects being shot by minority police abound but are never reported nationally. There was 20-year old white man Dillon Taylor, who was shot by a Hispanic cop last year; Iraq military veteran James Whitehead, shot by off-duty black police officer Robert Arnold in Texas in 2011 after a verbal altercation; white teen Gil Collar, shot by a black officer at the University of Alabama in 2012; and 46-year-old white man John Geer, shot with his hands up (according to four police officers on the scene) by a Hispanic cop with “anger issues.”

This isn’t to imply that all the above shootings were unjust, but such a standard is hardly necessary for the media to play the race card when reporting the rare white-on-black shootings. In fact, the media will trumpet the causes of obvious thugs, such as Ferguson’s Michael Brown, Baltimore’s Freddie Gray, and Trayvon Martin, even in the face of evidence that thugs are precisely what they are.

Speaking of which, what do you think about the coverage of that unarmed 17-year-old shot by that grown man?

No, not cute little Trayvon.

Seventeen-year-old white kid Chris Cervini, shot by black martial artist Roderick Scott in Greece, NY in 2009. Scott is built like a brick outhouse and admits Cervini never laid a hand on him, but he says he thought his life could be in danger. He was acquitted by a mostly white jury, and I don’t question the verdict. But the verdict on the media is clear:

Guilty.

Guilty of using lies that have evoked hatred, fomented racial unrest, sparked riots, caused property destruction, and led to innocent people’s deaths.

>>>>Of course, blacks are only 13 percent of the population. So far more significantly and as this recent Washington State University study shows, police are actually more willing to shoot white than black suspects. Why? Because police know that, as Ferguson officer Darren Wilson’s experience illustrates, shooting a black criminal can mean media crucifixion, career destruction, death threats, and, basically, the end of your life as you know it.

Black suspects are as likely to shoot at police as to be shot at.

Relative to whites, black are shot by police at a lower rate than their involvement in crime would suggest. As sociologist and ex-cop Professor Peter Moskos writes, “[a]djusted for the homicide rate, whites are 1.7 times more likely than blacks [to] die at the hands of police. Adjusted for the racial disparity at which police are feloniously killed, whites are 1.3 times more likely than blacks to die at the hands of police.” <<<<

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.